Impact

Over nearly 60 years, IDS has played a key role in development thinking, policy, and practice around the world.

A girl with long dark hair in a pink long-sleeved top leans over to write on a flip chart .
A girl contributes to a participatory research group in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo credit: CLARISSA

Our research, teaching and action on topics as diverse as social protection, agricultural livelihoods, and pathways to change has influenced generations of development professionals.

Our work is creating impact by:

  • Changing awareness and understanding of complex social, environmental and economic issues, helping to shift attitudes around particular issues.
  • Building and strengthening networks and communities of practice that can enable research to be produced, shared, and connected with policy and practice.
  • Strengthening the capacity of institutions, individuals or systems, empowering communities and creating the conditions under which knowledge can be turned into action.
  • Influencing the creation or implementation of policies or practices which can stimulate more effective development.

Stories of impact

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Showing 61–72 of 77 results

Impact Story

Mutual learning and accountability for universal health coverage

Ensuring everyone in the world has access to decent healthcare is the concept behind universal health coverage. This ambition is part of the Global Goals, but has been on international agendas since 1978, when the Alma-Ata Declaration identified primary healthcare as key to attaining health for...

9 July 2019

Impact Story

Bringing much-needed rigour to debates on China’s Belt and Road Initiative

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the world’s largest infrastructure plan with the potential to accelerate progress towards global sustainability. Whether it can live up to this promise is the subject of intense, often polarised debate. Some point to the BRI’s alignment to the...

9 July 2019

Impact Story

Building capacity to ensure smart, sustainable and inclusive cities

‘Smart cities’ use new technologies to meet their most pressing urban challenges and become more sustainable. IDS researchers have been investigating how inclusive these solutions really are, with a focus on a large-scale smart cities initiative in India. The Indian government’s...

9 July 2019

Impact Story

Generating new insights on agriculture as a pathway from poverty in Africa

With more than half of Africa’s workers employed in agriculture, the sector offers a valuable pathway out of poverty for the continent.  Agriculture has long been central to IDS’ work, particularly on reducing inequalities, through evidence-based research, policy dialogue, networking and...

4 July 2019

Impact Story

Understanding and strengthening women’s roles in politics and work

For more than 40 years, IDS has been forging its well-earned reputation for progressive gender research, knowledge sharing and teaching. That work continues apace today with IDS programmes and researchers continuing to deepen understanding of how to strengthen women’s political and economic...

4 July 2019

Impact Story

Award for IDS-led action research for peace-building in Myanmar

Amid international responses to conflict, disease or disaster, there is a growing call to pay more heed to local perspectives. Whether this means considering local customs including burial practices during an epidemic such as Ebola or the wellbeing of refugees, the underlying concept is that...

21 June 2019

Impact Story

More funding for prizewinning STEPS Centre’s sustainability work

The STEPS Centre, co-hosted by IDS and the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex, has been awarded another four years of ‘transition funding’ in recognition of the value and impact of its work in helping to shape climate and sustainability policy processes. Read...

1 August 2018

Impact Story

Making research evidence central to the global movement to end child poverty

IDS is committed to putting research evidence at the heart of efforts to influence policy and practice. In 2017, this commitment could be seen in IDS’ active membership of the Global Coalition to End Child Poverty and in the impacts that followed. Read Annual Review Through partnership...

1 August 2018

Impact Story

Building capacity and growing networks with global leaders in nutrition

In July 2017, for the sixth consecutive year, we ran our Transform Nutrition: Ideas, Policies and Outcomes short course. Over the past year, the course and the growing global network around it have helped to build participants’ capacity and ability to influence change. Read Annual...

1 August 2018

Impact Story

Shaping UK development policies on SDGs, population and fertility

IDS leads the consortium implementing the Knowledge for Development (K4D) programme, which provides a rapid response research synthesis helpdesk service, as well as learning support (through activities and products) for several hundred professional advisers at DFID. Read Annual...

1 August 2018

Impact Story

Informing alternative policy approaches in the ‘war’ on illicit crops

IDS has produced vital new evidence to show how land property rights could be an effective policy tool in the fight against illicit crop production in Colombia, one of the world’s largest producers of coca. Read Annual Review The evidence has implications for policy in developing...

1 August 2018

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